The House of Lords has been accused of treating peers like 'recalcitrant schoolboys' after banning two octogenarians from Parliament's bars and restaurants for failing to attend a sexual harassment workshop.
Friends of Lord Kalms, 89, and Lord Willoughby de Broke, 82, branded the punishment 'ridiculous' following the fallout over the mandatory 'Valuing Everyone' classes.
The pair - along with Lord James - were threatened with the exclusion earlier this month and the authorities have now acted.
The 'Valuing Everyone' two-hour session is run by a controversial consultancy firm that uses giant blue puppets in some of its courses.
Challenge Consultancy has pocketed £885,354 for running the course across the Commons and Lords, a Parliament spokesman said.